Bureau of Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport disallowed last Friday from entering the country 36 Chinese from Macau, which is covered by the travel ban imposed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said the Chinese passengers were refused entry upon their arrival aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“They were denied entry after our officers discovered that they were traveling as a group and that they have been to Macau last Feb. 1,” Medina said.
Under the travel ban, foreigners will not be allowed to enter the Philippines if within the past 14 days, they have traveled either to China, Macau, and Hong Kkong.
Medina said all 36 passengers were initially turned over to the Bureau of Quarantine for inspection and booked on the first available flight to Phnom Penh.
Morente reiterated his appeal to airlines and shipping to do their share in implementing the travel ban and prevent the entry of foreigners from the areas of concern.
All airlines and ships have been instructed not to board passengers covered by the ban, and according to Morente, they are studying the possibility of imposing fines against violations.
Meanwhile, the BI said it is now requiring both foreign and Filipino passengers from abroad to completely fill out and submit their arrival cards while undergoing immigration arrival formalities by BI officers.
Morente had earlier instructed all immigration supervisors in the different airports to strictly enforce the new policy to enable the bureau to assist health and police authorities in tracking down passengers who have been to the areas of concern.
Previously, only foreign passengers arriving at the airports are required to fill out arrival cards while Filipinos are obliged to fill out embarkation cards when they leave the country.
In another development, the BI Immigration Regulation Division said it is now strictly screening applications for extension of stay of foreign tourists to check if any of them have a history of travel to China, Hong Kong, and Macau within 14 days from their arrival.
Morente said a visa extension applicant covered by the restriction shall be turned over to the BOQ for medical assessment.
“We have developed a series of checking, double-checking, even triple checking to ensure that we assist our health authorities in monitoring the travelers. We do what we can to help prevent the spread of this virus,” said Morente. (Jun Ramirez)
